Top College Basketball Picks for Thursday, January 27 (2022)
In college basketball, it becomes a little bit harder in conference play. Most of the time, it’s never a bad idea to pick the home team in a conference matchup. But there will always be that time when a road team wakes up and destroys the competition with the entire arena against them.
We have to navigate through the card and make some tough decisions with so many games. I found seven bets I liked but narrowed the list to three. We’re taking it slow here! Check out my three favorite bets for January 27.
All odds via BettingPros consensus
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Middle Tennessee State vs. Marshall: Middle Tennessee State +2.5 (-115)
(7:00 PM ET tip)
Middle Tennessee State has won three straight games and will look to continue the streak on the road against Marshall. I should note that all of the Middle Tennessee wins during the streak were at home. I still like how Middle Tennessee State matches up here.
Marshall has been terrible offensively, shooting just 25.9 percent from three this season. Inside, the Thundering Herd are shooting 53.1 percent from the field. However, Middle Tennessee has held opponents to 48.2 percent in that area.
On the other hand, Middle Tennessee loves to shoot the three. The club has confident shooters, despite shooting just 28.7 percent from three this season. Marshall has allowed teams to shoot 36.8 percent from deep this year, so there’s a good chance Middle Tennessee gets some quality looks from long range.
Bet: Middle Tennessee +2.5 (-115)
Bellarmine vs Stetson: Bellarmine -130
(7:30 PM ET tip)
I’m not one to play the spread when the line is lower than -150. With that said, the Bellarmine Knights won five straight before losing to Jacksonville State on Monday, 65-60. Meanwhile, Stetson lost three straight before defeating North Alabama by two points on Saturday.
Both teams have awful defenses, but Bellarmine should be the team that capitalizes on the offensive end. Neither team will earn many offensive rebounds or second chances, but Bellarmine will turn the ball over less and continue to shoot at a high rate inside the arc, at 54.8 percent on the season.
As a short favorite, I like Bellarmine.
Bet: Bellarmine (-130)
Pacific vs Portland: Portland (-135)
(10:00 PM ET tip)
The Pacific Tigers have allowed teams to shoot nearly 40 percent from downtown this season. The Tigers have literally allowed teams to shoot 39.7 percent from deep and Portland is not shy when attempting threes. The Portland Pilots are shooting threes at an above-average rate and knockdown over 33 percent of them.
Plus, Portland gets to the line at a higher rate and shoot 81.2 percent from the foul line this season. If this game becomes close towards the end, which team would you trust? Portland at 81.2 percent or Pacific at 66.3 percent from the foul line? That’s an easy answer.
Pacific will rarely shoot threes and continue to shoot many shots inside the arc this season. The Tigers are actually scoring 53.5 percent of their points inside the arc. Still, Pacific is shooting just 45 percent from inside while Portland has defended inside well, holding teams to 47.9 percent from the field, inside the arc.
So give me Portland as the short favorite.
Bet: Portland (-135)
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Jason Radowitz is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Jason, check out his archive and follow him @Jason_Radowitz.